Alden moved with the others through the complex corridors towards the cafeteria.
Every now and then they'd meet brand new people, sometimes at stairwells or at classroom doors.
The majority of the time they'd found them huddled in a corner in small groups; they were frozen and unsure exactly what to do.
And each time the same frantic exchange repeated itself, whether started by the professor or one of the older kids;
"There's a tiger-like monster outside," someone leading the group would say.
"Come, follow us to the cafeteria," they'd continue.
A lot of the times the groups of people believed them instantly. Alden assumed that it was the presence of older figures that convinced them or maybe that they would find comfort in a larger group, maybe even that their fear made them obey easily.
But sometimes they demanded proof, saying that they were lying. This time Alden assumed that it was the paranoia from today's events that made them act this way, yet after seeing them leave, those groups would follow swiftly.
Alden stopped counting how many times the professor or someone else had the whole group stop to repeat the warning and tell them to follow along.
Yet by the time they had reached the main stairway towards the cafeteria, their group had grown noticeably bigger.
What had originally been just 5 classes of people had transformed into a slow-moving crowd, and with every step their voices overlapped, and the panic they had controlled began to regrow with every step they took.
Suddenly, Alden heard a scream in front of him, followed by gasps and various voices conveying shock.
He quickly moved through the crowd, finding Vale.
"Hey! What's happened?" Alden asked him.
"Someone vanished…" Vale replied with a groan.
Alden's stomach dropped.
Apparently, one moment, a girl was clutching the railing from panic, whispering to her friend who was supporting her.
Yet the next moment, the area beside the railing was empty. With the girl now supporting air.
Again, it happened with no sound.
And again it happened with no warning.
Naturally it was her friend who screamed first, followed by the crowd recoiling far away, their bodies pressed tightly into one another along the stairs.
From the distance, Alden saw one of the smaller kids slowly being pushed to the floor, the crowd paying them no heed in their panic.
Sensing danger, he quickly went over, with Vale swiftly following.
"Hey! Move out the way!" he shouted to those nearest to her, and reaching his hands forward, he helped her stand up again.
Vale assessed the girl's condition; aside from being pale and looking frightened, no major harm was done.
He and Alden went back towards their designated position.
They started moving again, this time even faster than before. It was no longer about following the professor's plan but more about instinct.
Each disappearance had carved fear even deeper into their very souls. With no wanting to be standing in the same place for too long, as if it would help them avoid vanishing.
And by the time they reached the corridor nearest to the cafeteria, Alden realized that neither he nor anyone else was leading anyone anymore.
At some point they were being carried by the crowd.
…
The large cafeteria doors burst open into the noises; it was already packed. People from the other buildings had arrived first.
The tables had either been shoved together in a corner or been overturned. Some people stood on chairs, shouting. Alden focused his hearing to listen for a moment.
"…it was a huge snake! I swear! Maybe a python of some sort?" One student tried convincing people of what he had seen, trying to warn them of the danger.
"Is this Judgment Day? Maybe a test set by God?" another theorized.
What one student in particular was saying caught Alden's attention.
"…it was! Something was chasing a HUGE tiger! I don't know what it was, but it was horrifying!" Alden's pupils dilated.
One truth is becoming horrifyingly clear.
It was not just one monster!
Other people had come to Alden's conclusion at the same time and began spreading it into the crowd, and spread it did.
With it, panic reignited. Although some, who had not seen any monster with their own eyes, tried questioning it at first, the truth didn't matter for long - only fear did.
…
Alden stood near one of the corners alone, the cascade of voices being actively blurred out by him.
He could almost hear his heart hammering against his ribs, but his thoughts were actually drifting somewhere else entirely. Onto a single question.
Was this, whatever "this" is, happening everywhere?
This question alone terrified him more than the monsters ever could.
If this was only happening here, then there was hope, because if this school was only an isolated case, then help might soon arrive - maybe someone had already noticed something amiss?
But if it was happening on a global scale…
Alden stopped thinking, becoming terrified of the possibilities.
Yet he still started preparing himself for the worst, his mind quickly sorting out his strengths and weaknesses.
He was quite tall, and thankfully he had eaten well his whole life, making him stronger than average.
Not only that, but before his heart condition started drastically deteriorating, he had been training in multiple martial arts - a hobby he'd found himself in.
As for weaknesses…one in particular glared at him.
His eyesight - he was now wearing contacts, and without them his sight would be bad enough to disqualify him from driving! And if his idea about a global castrosphere taking place as he thinks, with mankind reduced to nothing and monsters roaming everywhere, then his sight would be a major weakness.
And it's not like his eyesight could be trained to be better, nor would it heal over time. Meaning that if he'd ever lose the contacts he's wearing now…then he'd effectively be functionally blind for most tasks.
And it's not like if he takes care of the contacts he's wearing now, then all is fine; overtime contacts break down - not only becoming useless but also endangering an eye infection.
Alden gained a small goal: to either find enough contacts to last him years or to retrieve glasses that fit him. With both being better.
…
Time passed slowly. More people arrived, and a select few vanished amongst the crowd. And with each disappearance plunging the cafeteria into further panic.
With arguments between the overstressed students threatening to escalate - possibly into something physical. The professor and several other teachers tried to maintain order, and even with the addition of several older students, like Vale, cracks were already forming in said order.
People were pushed and pushing.
With their voices sharpening after every exchange.
Someone had accused another person of lying, and another had said that the teachers were hiding something.
Alden watched it all unfold from the distance, neither getting involved nor helping break apart escalating arguments.
He realized that when humans encounter a life-ending event that they don't understand, no matter how hard they try to comprehend it. They resort to something more primal, something savage - just a bout of brute strength.
That's why he didn't intervene; he understood that they were scared, that they didn't understand anything yet had all this energy, so they were simply trying to get rid of it before it exploded inside of them.
…
"Oi," a voice sounded behind Alden; he didn't need to turn around to know that it was directed at him.
Neither did he need to turn around to know who it was; it was Regis. They had been at odds for a while now, over nothing particularly serious - just a culmination of small arguments and fights. Their clash had climaxed when they faced each other in the ring; Regis had won that one - Alden's heart hadn't been able to keep up with Regis's endurance for long.
When Alden turned around, he caught Regis staring at him with a familiar disdainful look in his eyes, yet this time Alden also caught panic engraved deeper within - it was clear that the recent ordeals had taken their toll on him too.
"Well," Regis started speaking loudly, as if to make sure that the people nearby heard him, "guess some people are just real lucky, huh?"
Alden ignored him, paying him no heed.
Yet Regis mistook it as a sign of weakness, continuing his venting - Alden merely being a tool. "All these people disappearing left and right… and with monsters outside… yet you're still here, perfectly normal - with that exact same calm last attitude as before!" His voice started getting louder and louder with each word. At the end his voice soared to a roar, successfully engulfing the entire cafeteria - in turn getting their attention.
Something inside Alden clicked; since he was young, he had always hated loud noises. Especially when people started shouting and screaming in anger - it reminded him of bad memories.
So he decided to do something about Regis's obnoxiously loud voice.
He moved first. Throwing the first punch.
It landed cleanly on Regis's nose, stumbling him into the people behind him. He sat on the floor confused, not expecting Alden to actually start a fight.
Yet Alden wouldn't let him stand back up again so easily; he landed on top of him, throwing punch after punch, causing the crowd nearby to gasp as Regis's nose started bleeding.
He tried fighting back, yet Alden firmly pinned him to the floor. And with each punch his emotions found a place to vent. At some point, he felt four hands pulling him up forcefully - two from each side. He resisted for a bit before throwing a few more punches and letting himself get pulled up from on top of Regis.
Looking behind him, he found the people who pulled him up to be Vale and Rowan. They both knew of the enmity between him and Regis, so they didn't bother asking. Regis glared fiercely at Alden and the other two before covering his still bleeding nose and going to a corner.
The cafeteria was silent.
No one had cheered.
…
That was when a shout sounded near the entrance.
"There are people outside!" some kid had run in, screaming his lungs out to let them know. Quickly following behind him was a group of kids, around 20 of them.
Alden turned, paying close attention as he started explaining.
He started by saying that he had heard screams for help coming from outside, and braving his heart, he went to investigate. Only to discover people pressed against the automatic doors that lead into the main building from outside! And that no matter how they tried, the doors simply wouldn't open, yet when he got close, the doors opened as usual!
Not only letting the people stuck outside in but also revealing that there were people stuck outside needing rescue!
Automatic?
That word echoed in Alden's head.
He had assumed that all technology had failed.
Phones had no signal. Lights flickered and then turned off.
So why were the doors still working?
Or…not working?
…just half working?
His thoughts spiraled.
Maybe it wasn't as simple as "no technology."
Maybe this phenomenon has rules, selective ones.
Rules that, if understood, could be bent…
… Or could it be that they were being actively decided on?
But by whom? A higher sentence?
Were they… being watched…?
The thought sent a chill down Alden's spine.